The ballad of Akir James

Twenty- three |1|

        IT WAS HARD TALKING OR MORE LIKE CONVINCING MOM that the pictures meant nothing. Jessica and I were just having fun hanging out with Ronen, who I told her comes from overseas and explained that their norms are different from ours. Hence, the reason I am getting home late.

Just as I got out of the taxi, Neril did, too, and I realized the driver was helping her get grocery bags out of the trunk and placing them on the sidewalk. It was a lot for her to carry alone up the flight of stairs leading to her apartment.

"Thank God you're here," She exclaims as she reaches for her cellphone, probably sending off a text to Olan.

"Let me help." I reached for bags with Tin items and another that had meat that was wrapped in newspapers. We made two trips upon the last trip, I sat on the ground in her kitchen. Just as she handed me bottled water, her apartment door pulled open and then slammed.

"It ain't your fucking business Jevel!" Olan shouted.

"Why do you care that I send it to his mother? She deserves to know what  her son is." Jevel spat disgusted and disappointed.

"Would you like us to tell your mother you like to sleep around?" Olan shouts at her. Jevel scoffed.

"I slept with you." She says.

"It ain't the highlight of my life, Leave the man alone." He snapped.

"How did you find out?" She asked.

"It ain't any of your business how I found out. You have no right to send those pictures to his mother. You invade the man's privacy." Olan clip annoyed at Jevel.

"The moment he decides to take cock in the ass, there's no privacy," Jevel says.

"Like how you have no privacy to opening your legs to the whole world? Get it in your head. He doesn't like you, and he never will." Olan says. "

"How do you know he has sex? He could just be experiencing dating men. " Olan sigh, probably frustrated. "Those pictures doesn't look experimental, the boy is all over him like how she is all over in a clingy girlfriend boyfriend way." Jevel says in a strong tone.

"Her name is Neril," Olan gritted.

   Neril looks over at me. Her eyes were shocked but held something else, not pity but realization. As she continues to unpack her grocery bag so that both our friends don't know, I am here.

      "Aren't you going to ask where I got the pictures from?" Jevel asked.

"Not interested." He huffs.

    "Do you think T is too?" She asked.

"Get out!" I hear Olan say, the sound of him opening the door, Jevel walking out, and then the door slamming shut.

     "Sorry babe, I got caught up with Akir's Mom, and then one thing led to this." He walks towards the kitchen. Neril quickly meets him halfway.

"Who helped you carry the bags up?" He asked.

"Akir, but he left before you guys showed up." She quickly lied.

"Glad he help, don't want you straining these arms." He says.

"Babe, you reek of cement and sweat. Go shower." She pushed him away.

"Alright." The sound of him hitting Neril echoes. Neril cries out and returns to the counter. I stood up as soon as he disappeared down the hallway.

"I'll go," I manage to get out.

"Wait," She says, and without hesitation, She pulls me towards her and hugs me. I bite my lip inhaling deeply. "I - I- I," She stuttered.

"It's okay," I pulled away, taking in her expression as I gripped both her shoulders gently. "I am still your friend." I hear her say.  "I know, but I don't think Olan will be okay with it," I say. She looked to the ground and then backed up at me with understanding.

"I better go before he comes back out," I suggested. She nodded, and I exited out of her apartment, closing the door. I leaned against it for a while before taking the stairs towards my apartment a floor up.

     IT WAS A LITTLE AFTER EIGHT WHEN  SETH ENTER THE APARTMENT, Venzi followed behind him. Seth has a frown on his face as an unfamiliar guy steps into my apartment behind Venzi. Seth dropped his bag on the sofa and headed towards the bar stool where I had placed their food.

     "Akir, Victor." Venzi introduced us. Victor lifted his head in manly a gesture, I did the same when the realization clicked that this was the Victor that both Seth and Venzi were arguing about last weekend. I had to step in because Seth was riling Venzi up with his Sass. Seth has this quirk that when he argues his feminine side pushes forward and it gives Venzi a stroke.

Like right now, he was fuming with Sass and attitude eyeing Victor and Venzi, who were sitting on the sofa deep in a conversation with both their laptop on the center table. I could tell it was driving him mad, especially since Victor came for his plate of food and Victor was eating off the same fork.

"Mash Potatoes aren't nice cold." I lean on the counter. "I'm not hungry anymore," he pushed his plate away as Venzi got up, taking his shirt off and entering Seth's room. He came back out, wearing a vest, and right away Victor eyed him but quickly shifted his gaze to the laptop. Venzi says something to him, and he laughs, leaning back as he widens his hand on the couch directly behind Venzi. Venzi leans forward, oblivious to the fact that maybe his friend is into him. I doubt it, though he is probably just comfortable with Venzi.

       Venzi got up and headed towards us. Directly to Seth. "Tell me if he's looking," Venzi says to me before he snakes his hand around Seth's slender neck, lifting his face and giving him a full kiss before he pulls away reaching for his Juice.

"Quit with the jealousy," he says close to Seth's ear, barely kissing his cheeks as he returns to the sofa.

"Happy now?" I ask, I eye Seth, who is smiling down at his food. He holds up his hand and sets his thumb and index with a little space between them.

"A little," he says, resuming to eat his food. I chuckle as my cellphone vibrates, I reach for it, and I notice it is a text.

"Did you get Friday off?" Seth leans over and asks quietly. "Yeah," I answered, reading the text that came in from Tamara asking if Torando was at my place. I left her on read, sliding my phone on the island as I continued to eat.

          "So what's your plan to buy for his birthday?" I asked. He placed his fork down. "I am in a dilemma. That's why I am asking the king of gift buying, according to Gabriel." He says, and I shake my head.

"Alright, I'll help you out, but you have to wash up the dishes," I told him.

"I'll wash up after every time YOU cook. Unlike Venzi. He doesn't know how to minimize work." He muttered, I laughed.

"It's the Job, in the hotel, they have people for everything, so he just focuses on making the food," I told him.

"Yard different from work. Clean as you go, so clean up is better." Seth states his frustration at the sound of my apartment opening and Torando stepping in.

"When did he get a key?" Seth asked. I keep my head on my plate. I felt Seth's eyes on me, hoping I'd answer but I didn't. I didn't need to explain how having T around even though I tried to convince both him and Venzi that we were just friends and we broke up.

"Yo A, can I borrow your laptop?" He asked.

"No, I am going to use it after I am finished eating." I look in his direction to see Damion standing behind him.

"It won't take long." He says.

"No," I told him firmly, but he headed for my room, and he came back out with it and my charger. "You change the password?"He asked, tapping the keys, probably entering my old password, but Ronen made sure to change all my passwords to his birthday date.

       "What's  the password?" He asked.

"I told you I need my laptop." I got up. He tosses my laptop on the sofa.

"It's fine, I'll use my phone," Damion says. I look at him as T glares at me.